Headout: Wizard of Moms

Does Menomena’s new album pass the Oz test?

When I heard that Menomena—apparently some big-deal Portland psychedelic rock band—was going to match up its new record, Moms,
with laser Floyd at OMSI, I figured we had a throwback on our hands: a
band that had its bags packed for the totally trippy Land of Oz. See, in
my day, every new rock album was put to the same litmus test: Does it
sync perfectly with and enhance the viewing pleasure of The Wizard of Oz?

Everyone knows Pink Floyd did it with Dark Side of the Moon,
but it’s less common knowledge that a full decade worth of classic
albums were recorded in careful lockstep with the classic 1939 film. Frampton Comes Alive!? More like Frampton Sees the Wizard! Blood on the Tracks? More like Blood on the Yellow Brick Road! Songs in the Key of Life? More like Songs in the Cowardly of Lion! Bat Out of Hell? More like Bat Out of Kansas!

Now,
where was I going with all this? I’m pretty high. Oh yeah, let’s see if
Menomena’s new record is ready to take a little twister ride to a
Technicolor dreamland.

:02 Whoa, the first word of this album is “animal,”
and it happens as the MGM lion roars. Trip. I’d better take another
toke and strap myself in!

25:22 OK, dwarfs are definitely marching in time
with the military beat on Menomena’s “Giftshoppe.” Where did they get
all these singing dwarfs? This was before eBay!

36:09 These lyrics lend the scene where Dorothy
meets the Scarecrow some really inappropriate sexual undertones. Or
maybe there’s just a tension I never noticed before? This band is really
horny, and I don’t mean the sax!

46:05 The Wicked Witch shows up to shoot balls of
flame, and Menomena’s “One Horse” makes them the saddest balls ever. And
now the Scarecrow is giving Dorothy the ol’ raised eyebrows.

48:25 Wow! What is this long silence meant to symbolize?

50:00 And just like that, this sex-crazed fever
dream is over! We leave Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the
Cowardly Lion in the dark forest. Will the next album pick up where this
one left off? Will laser Floyd match up better than this did? My mind
reels just thinkin’ about it.

SEE IT: Menomena’s Dark Side of the Moms is at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave., on Friday, Aug. 24. 11 pm. $5. All ages.

OREGON STATE FAIR[SOO-EE] In a bizarre rural custom, farm
animals such as sheep and pigs are awarded colored ribbons and then
deep-fried as teenagers pay to play games they know they will not win
and ride brightly lit contraptions that spin uncomfortably fast. Oregon
State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem. Aug. 24-Sept. 3. 10 am-9 pm
Sunday-Thursday, 10 am-11 pm Friday-Saturday. Tickets $6-11.
oregonstatefair.org.

KPSU KRUISE[ON A BOAT] Two of Portland’s best
bands—Radiation City and Unknown Mortal Orchestra—join forces on a boat
as a fundraiser for college radio station KPSU in its quest for a better
signal. There is definitely no better way to spend your Sunday night. Portland
Spirit, Salmon Street Springs Fountain at Tom McCall Waterfront Park
(Southwest Naito Parkway and Salmon Street), 224-3900. 10:30 pm. $20.
All ages.